Jeremiah 50:17

Easy-to-Read Version

"Israel is like a flock of sheep that was scattered all over the country. Israel is like sheep that were chased away by lions. The first lion to attack was the king of Assyria. The last lion to crush Israel's bones was King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Israel is a stray lamb, chased by lions.The first who devoured him was the king of Assyria;the last who crushed his boneswas King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

Hebrew Names Version
Yisra'el is a hunted sheep; the lions have driven him away: first, the king of Ashshur devoured him; and now at last Nevukhadretztzar king of Bavel has broken his bones.

King James Version
Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.

English Standard Version
"Israel is a hunted sheep driven away by lions. First the king of Assyria devoured him, and now at last Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has gnawed his bones.

New American Standard Bible
"Israel is a scattered flock, the lions have driven them away. The first one who devoured him was the king of Assyria, and this last one who has gnawed his bones is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

New Century Version
"The people of Israel are like a flock of sheep that are scattered from being chased by lions. The first lion to eat them up was the king of Assyria. The last lion to crush their bones was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon."

Amplified Bible
"Israel is a hunted and scattered flock [driven here and there as prey]; the lions have chased them away. First the king of Assyria devoured him, and now at last Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken (gnawed) his bones.

World English Bible
Israel is a hunted sheep; the lions have driven him away: first, the king of Assyria devoured him; and now at last Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon has broken his bones.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Israel is like scattered sheepe: the lions haue dispersed them: first the King of Asshur hath deuoured him, and last this Nebuchad-nezzar King, of Babel hath broken his bones.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Israel is a scattered flock, the lions have driven them away. The first one who devoured him was the king of Assyria, and this last one who has broken his bones is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

Legacy Standard Bible
"Israel is a scattered flock; the lions have banished them away. The first one who devoured him was the king of Assyria, and this last one who has broken his bones is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

Berean Standard Bible
Israel is a scattered flock, chased away by lions. The first to devour him was the king of Assyria; the last to crush his bones was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon."

Contemporary English Version
Israel is a flock of sheep scattered by hungry lions. The king of Assyria first gobbled Israel down. Then Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylonia, crunched on Israel's bones.

Complete Jewish Bible
"Isra'el is a stray lamb, driven away by lions. First to devour him was Ashur's king; and the last to break his bones is this N'vukhadretzar king of Bavel."

Darby Translation
Israel is a hunted sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria devoured him, and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.

George Lamsa Translation
Israel is a lost ewe; the lions have caused him to go astray; first the king of Assyria has devoured him; and at last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has inflicted a more grievous wound than the other.

Good News Translation
The Lord says, "The people of Israel are like sheep, chased and scattered by lions. First, they were attacked by the emperor of Assyria, and then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia gnawed on their bones.

Lexham English Bible
Israel is a sheep scattered, lions drove them away. The first who devoured it was the king of Assyria, and now at the end Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, gnawed its bones."

Literal Translation
Israel is a scattered sheep, driven away by lions. First, the king of Assyria devoured him. And last, this King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon crunched him .

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Israel is a scatred flocke, the Lyons haue dispersed them. First the kinge of the Assirians deuoured them, last of all this Nabuchodonosor kynge of Babilon hath brussed all their bones.

American Standard Version
Israel is a hunted sheep; the lions have driven him away: first, the king of Assyria devoured him; and now at last Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.

Bible in Basic English
Israel is a wandering sheep; the lions have been driving him away: first he was attacked by the king of Assyria, and now his bones have been broken by Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Israel is a scattered sheep, the lions have driven him away; first the king of Assyria hath devoured him, and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.

King James Version (1611)
Israel is a scattered sheepe, the lyons haue driuen him away: first the king of Assyria hath deuoured him, and last this Nebuchad-rezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Israel is a scattered flocke, the lions haue dispearsed them: First the kyng of the Assyrians deuoured them, last of all this Nabuchodonozor king of Babylon hath brused all their bones.

English Revised Version
Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Israel is a scaterid flok, liouns castiden out it; first kyng Assur eete it, this laste Nabugodonosor, kyng of Babiloyne, dide awei the bonys therof.

Update Bible Version
Israel is a hunted sheep; the lions have driven him away: first, the king of Assyria devoured him; and now at last Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon has broken his bones.

Webster's Bible Translation
Israel [is] a scattered sheep; the lions have driven [him] away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.

New English Translation
"The people of Israel are like scattered sheep which lions have chased away. First the king of Assyria devoured them. Now last of all King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has gnawed their bones.

New King James Version
"Israel is like scattered sheep; The lions have driven him away. First the king of Assyria devoured him; Now at last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken his bones."

New Living Translation
"The Israelites are like sheep that have been scattered by lions. First the king of Assyria ate them up. Then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon cracked their bones."

New Life Bible
"Israel is like sheep sent everywhere, driven away by lions. The first one who destroyed Israel was the king of Assyria. And the last one who has broken his bones is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

New Revised Standard
Israel is a hunted sheep driven away by lions. First the king of Assyria devoured it, and now at the end King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon has gnawed its bones.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
A sheep all alone, is Israel Lions, have driven him away, - At the first, the king of Assyria devoured him, And here, at the last, I Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones!

Douay-Rheims Bible
Israel is a scattered flock, the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria devoured him: and last this Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon hath broken his bones.

Revised Standard Version
"Israel is a hunted sheep driven away by lions. First the king of Assyria devoured him, and now at last Nebuchadrez'zar king of Babylon has gnawed his bones.

Young's Literal Translation
A scattered sheep is Israel, lions have driven away, At first, devour him did the king of Asshur, And now, at last, broken his bone Hath Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon.

THE MESSAGE
"Israel is a scattered flock, hunted down by lions. The king of Assyria started the carnage. The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, Has completed the job, gnawing the bones clean."

Contextual Overview

⁹ I will bring many nations together from the north. This group of nations will get ready for war against Babylon. Babylon will be captured by people from the north. Those nations will shoot many arrows at Babylon. Their arrows will be like soldiers who don't come back from war with their hands empty. ¹⁰ The enemy will take all the wealth from the Chaldeans. The soldiers will take all they want." This is what the Lord said. ¹¹ "Babylon, you are excited and happy. You took my land. You dance around like a young cow that got into the grain. Your laughter is like the happy sounds that horses make. ¹² Now your mother will be very ashamed. The woman who gave you birth will be embarrassed. Babylon will be the least important of all the nations. She will be an empty, dry desert. ¹³ The Lord will show his anger, so no one will live there. Babylon will be completely empty. Everyone who passes by Babylon will be afraid. They will shake their heads when they see how badly it has been destroyed. ¹⁴ "Prepare for war against Babylon. All you soldiers with bows, shoot your arrows at Babylon. Don't save any of your arrows. Babylon has sinned against the Lord . ¹⁵ Soldiers around Babylon, shout the cry of victory! Babylon has surrendered! Her walls and towers have been pulled down! The Lord is giving her people the punishment they deserve. You nations should give Babylon the punishment she deserves. Do to her what she has done to other nations. ¹⁶ Don't let the people from Babylon plant their crops. Don't let them gather the harvest. The soldiers of Babylon brought many prisoners to their city. Now the enemy soldiers have come, so the prisoners are going back home. They are running back to their own countries. ¹⁷ "Israel is like a flock of sheep that was scattered all over the country. Israel is like sheep that were chased away by lions. The first lion to attack was the king of Assyria. The last lion to crush Israel's bones was King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. ¹⁸ So this is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will soon punish the king of Babylon and his country as I punished the king of Assyria.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

a scattered: Jeremiah 50:6, Jeremiah 23:1, Jeremiah 23:2, Ezekiel 34:5, Ezekiel 34:6, Ezekiel 34:12, Joel 3:2, Matthew 9:36-38, Luke 15:4-6, John 10:10-12, 1 Peter 2:25

the lions: Jeremiah 2:15, Jeremiah 5:6, Jeremiah 49:19, Jeremiah 51:38

first: 2 Kings 15:29, 2 Kings 17:6-23, 2 Kings 18:9-13, 2 Chronicles 28:20, 2 Chronicles 32:1-23, 2 Chronicles 33:11, Isaiah 7:17-20, Isaiah 8:7, Isaiah 8:8, Isaiah 10:5-7, Isaiah 36:1 - Isaiah 37:38

this: Jeremiah 39:1-8, Jeremiah 51:34, Jeremiah 51:35, Jeremiah 52:1, 2 Kings 24:1 - 2 Kings 25:30, 2 Chronicles 36:1-23, Isaiah 47:6, Daniel 6:24

Reciprocal: Numbers 24:8 - break Deuteronomy 28:64 - scatter 1 Kings 22:17 - as sheep Esther 3:8 - scattered abroad Psalms 89:41 - All Isaiah 5:29 - roaring Isaiah 14:1 - the Lord Isaiah 24:1 - scattereth Isaiah 42:22 - a people Isaiah 43:14 - For Isaiah 45:4 - Jacob Isaiah 49:25 - Even Isaiah 52:4 - the Assyrian Isaiah 52:5 - make Jeremiah 4:7 - lion Jeremiah 10:21 - their Jeremiah 10:25 - eaten Jeremiah 30:16 - General Jeremiah 31:10 - He Jeremiah 50:7 - have devoured Jeremiah 50:11 - ye destroyers Jeremiah 50:33 - and all Jeremiah 51:24 - General Jeremiah 51:49 - As Babylon Lamentations 2:16 - We have swallowed Lamentations 3:4 - he hath Lamentations 3:34 - crush Ezekiel 5:10 - the whole Ezekiel 36:24 - General Ezekiel 38:13 - with Hosea 8:8 - swallowed Micah 7:9 - until Nahum 2:11 - the dwelling Habakkuk 2:8 - the violence Zechariah 1:19 - scattered Zechariah 2:8 - the nations Zechariah 10:2 - therefore Matthew 10:6 - lost

Cross-References

Genesis 31:42
But the God of my ancestors, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, was with me. If God had not been with me, you would have sent me away with nothing. But he saw the trouble that I had and the work that I did, and last night God proved that I am right."

Genesis 45:8
It was not your fault that I was sent here. It was God's plan. God made me like a father to Pharaoh. I am the governor over all his house and over all Egypt."

Genesis 49:25
the God of your father who helps you. May God All-Powerful bless you and give you blessings from the sky above and from the deep below. May he give you blessings from breast and womb.

Genesis 50:3
When the Egyptians prepared the body in this special way, they waited 40 days before they buried the body. Then the Egyptians had a special time of sadness for Jacob. This time was 70 days.

Genesis 50:4
After the time of sadness was finished, Joseph spoke to Pharaoh's officers and said, "Please tell this to Pharaoh:

Genesis 50:5
‘When my father was near death, I made a promise to him. I promised that I would bury him in a cave in the land of Canaan. This is the cave that he prepared for himself. So please let me go and bury my father. Then I will come back here to you.'"

Genesis 50:8
All the people in Joseph's family, his brothers, and all the people in his father's family went with him. Only the children and the animals stayed in the land of Goshen.

Genesis 50:12
So Jacob's sons did what their father told them.

Genesis 50:13
They carried his body to Canaan and buried it in the cave at Machpelah. This was the cave near Mamre in the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite. Abraham bought that cave to use as a burial place.

Genesis 50:14
After Joseph buried his father, he and everyone in the group with him went back to Egypt.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Israel [is] a scattered sheep,.... Or like a sheep that is frightened and drove from the fold, and is dispersed, and wanders about here and there; Israel includes all the twelve tribes:

the lions have driven [him] away; from his own land, and carried him captive, and scattered him among the nations; these lions are afterwards interpreted of the kings of Assyria and Babylon: so the Targum,

"kings have removed them;''

comparable to lions for their strength, fierceness, and voraciousness:

first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; eaten up his flesh; meaning Shalmaneser king of Assyria, who carried captive the ten tribes, that never returned, and therefore said to be devoured:

and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones; or, "boned him" t; took out his bones, all his strength and substance; or took the flesh off of them, stripped him of all his wealth and riches, reduced him to his bones, made a mere skeleton of him: we, with Kimchi and Ben Melech, and others, read "broke his bones"; to get the very marrow out, that nothing may be left of him: he took Jerusalem, burnt the temple, and carried captive the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, the strength of Israel; so, between the one and the other, all Israel were like a scattered sheep, dispersed among the nations. Nebuchadrezzar was the then reigning king in Babylon when this prophecy was delivered, and therefore called "this Nebuchadrezzar".

t עצמו "exossavit eum", Munster, Montanus, Cocceius.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Israel is a scattered sheep - i. e., is like a flock which has been scared and driven in all directions, for lions have chased him.

First the king ... - Rather, the first lion “ate him, even the king of Assyria; and this one, the last, heath picked his bones, even Nebuchadrezzar etc.” The constant wasting of the land by the Assyrians had so lessened the number of Israel, that Nebuchadnezzar had but the bones to pick.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jeremiah 50:17. Israel — All the descendants of Jacob have been harassed and spoiled, first by the Assyrians, and afterwards by the Chaldeans. They acted towards them as a lion to a sheep which he has caught; first he devours all the flesh, next he breaks all the bones to extract the marrow.